Laryngeal Dissection Course

Lesley French Childs, M.D., has sung all her life. Once, as a high school choir singer in Austin, she grew hoarse and went to an otolaryngologist. The

doctor used a scope to look at her vocal cords, then described what he saw (mild inflammation, it turned out). Photos on his wall showed performers he’d taken care of.

“I thought, ‘That is what I want to do,’” Dr. Childs recalls, adding that she had wanted to be a doctor since early childhood. “It was the perfect marriage of my two passions.”

Dr. Childs attended Yale University and then Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where her classmates voted her the person they would most want as their own physician. During her residency in head and neck surgery at Vanderbilt, she won more awards for excellence. Dr. Childs then completed a specialty fellowship at the New York Center for Voice and Swallowing Disorders, where she often took call for the opera.

In 2012, Dr. Childs returned to Texas, joining the faculty of UT Southwestern. She is Associate Professor of Laryngology, Neurolaryngology, and Professional Voice. Dr. Childs was recently appointed the Medical Director of the Clinical Center for Voice Care. Along with her colleague, Dr. Ted Mau, and four speech therapists, Dr. Childs cares for patients with vocal-fold disorders at the Clinical Center for Voice Care.

Dr. Childs hasn’t neglected her own singing. She has recorded songs for Walt Disney Records, playing characters such as Mulan and Sleeping Beauty. She sings with the professional choir Vox Humana and continues to take voice lessons regularly.

Thanks to technological advances, Dr. Childs can now show her patients video of their own vocal folds. “It’s pretty spectacular to see their expression. ‘Wow, so that’s my instrument!’

“That’s one of the most rewarding things: to educate singers about their instrument and about caring for it and protecting it.”

Dr. Child consults with individuals in other professions as well; in 2022, she was interviewed for a KTBS News feature about anchor Linnea Allen’s journey to overcome two voice disorders.

In 2019 and 2020, Dr. Childs was named a Texas Monthly Super Doctor Rising Star.

David G. Lott, M.D., holds the academic rank of Professor of Otolaryngology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He serves as the Chair of the Division of Laryngology within the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. His practice includes voice and swallowing restoration, laryngeal cancer, and laryngotracheal reconstruction.

Dr. Lott received his M.D. degree at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and completed a residency in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Head and Neck Institute. He received further fellowship training in Laryngeal Surgery and Professional Voice at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Lott is the Associate Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine, Arizona Campus. In addition, he is the Director of the Head and Neck Regenerative Medicine Lab at Mayo Clinic. The primary goal of the lab is to establish safe and effective clinical translation of regenerative medicine technology. The lab is initiating a FDA-approved human clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of the tissue-engineered technologies. Additionally, the efforts of this program have established the world’s first UNOS-approved Head and Neck Transplantation Program.

Andrew Bowen, M.D. is an Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a specialist in laryngology at MetroHealth, where he joined in 2024. He received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, completed his internship in otorhinolaryngology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, his residency in Mayo Clinic in Minnesota otorhinolaryngology and his fellowship in the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (Madison) in laryngology.

Dr. Bowen’s clinical expertise includes the treatment of aging voice, airway stenosis, vocal cord paralysis, laryngeal cancer, benign vocal cord lesions, cricopharyngeal dysfunction, and Zenker’s diverticulum. He offers advanced procedures such as complex airway surgery, laryngeal reinnervation, thyroplasty, EMG-guided Botox injections, injection laryngoplasty, in-office laser procedures, and surgery for both laryngeal cancer and Zenker’s diverticulum.

Abdul Latif Hamdan, M.D. is a Professor and Head of the Division of Laryngology at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where he also directs the Hamdan Voice and Swallowing Unit. A specialist in Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Hamdan has a particular clinical interest in voice and swallowing disorders, with a focus on the care of the professional voice. His expertise includes general ENT surgery, phonosurgery, and office-based procedures such as laser therapy, laryngeal injections, and biopsies. He also holds an adjunct professorship in the Department of Otolaryngology at Drexel University College of Medicine.

Ian N. Jacobs, MD, MLA, FACS, FAAP, is the Medical Director of the Center for Pediatric Airway Disorders in the Division of Otolaryngology (ENT) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He holds the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Endowed Chair in Pediatric Otolaryngology and Pediatric Airway Disorders.

My focus is in ear, nose and throat surgery. I specialize in voice and airway disorders. I completed additional training in the field of laryngology, giving me expertise in treating voice and airway problems. I treat patients who speak or sing professionally, as well as those with narrowing of the airway.

I am passionate about helping people live as full a life as possible. Part of this passion comes from recognizing the fundamental role that the voice and airway play in our lives.

Part of my role as a physician is to teach patients as much as I can. I give them the information they need to feel good about making their own decisions about their health care. Our multidisciplinary team of experts works one-on-one with our patients to create a targeted treatment plan specific to their disease.

I love working at Ohio State because it’s an environment of constant improvement. Everyone around me is always trying to make things better for our patients. It inspires me to work harder for my patients every day.

8:00 — Welcome & Course Introductions

• Seth H. Dailey, MD, University of Wisconsin–Madison

8:10 — Masterclass 1: Microflap – Start to Finish

• Dr. Lesley Childs and Senior SLP staff- UT-Southwestern, Texas

8:45 — Masterclass 2: Emergency Tracheotomy

• Dr. David Lott – Mayo-Scottsdale, Arizona

9:20 — Masterclass 3: Internal Branch of Superior Laryngeal Nerve Injections for Chronic Cough and Sensory Disturbance

• Dr. Andrew Bowen – University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio

9:50 — Break

10:00 — Masterclass 4: Angiolytic Laser Use in the Office for Benign Vocal Fold Lesions

• Dr. Latif Abdul Hamdan -Beirut University, Lebanon

10:35 — Masterclass 5: Pediatric Supraglottoplasty

• Dr. Ian Jacobs – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

11:10 — Masterclass 6: Tracheal Shave in the Office

• Dr. Laura Matrka – Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

11:40 — Discussion & Closing Remarks

• Seth H. Dailey, MD, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Noon — Lunch

Hands-On Dissection

In this portion of the course, participants will rotate through the following stations: Open Laryngeal Surgery, Endoscopic Laryngeal Surgery, Endoscopic ARC (TruBlue) Laser Surgery and Laryngotracheal Simulation.

12:40 — First Rotation

1:35 — Break

1:45 — Second Rotation

2:40 — Break

2:50 — Third Rotation

3:45 — Break

3:55 — Fourth Rotation

4:50 — Discussion & Closing Remarks

• Seth H. Dailey, MD, University of Wisconsin–Madison